Debjani Chatterjee

Who is Debjani Chatterjee?

Debjani Chatterjee MBE is an Indian-born British poet. She was born in Delhi but now lives in Sheffield, England. She had lived in India, Japan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Egypt, and Morocco, before coming to Britain in 1972. She attended seven schools and four Universities, receiving a BA from the University of Kent and a PhD from Lancaster University, as well as a PGCE and honorary Doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University.

She has written, translated, or edited more than 60 books, starting with the poetry collection I Was That Woman in 1989. She has won a number of prizes, including the Peterloo Poets Prize, and her book The Elephant-Headed God and Other Hindu Tales was selected for Children's Books of the Year in 1990.

In August 2010 Chatterjee contributed to an eBook collection of political poems entitled Emergency Verse - Poetry in Defence of the Welfare State edited by Alan Morrison

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2008 New Year Honours and was an Olympic Torchbearer in 2012.